Thursday, December 29, 2005

Where is bin Laden?

Does bin Laden have more propaganda value to Bush and Co. if he remains free and can be perceived as a major threat in the "War on Terror"?

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Exclusive: CIA Commander: U.S. Let bin Laden Slip Away

      http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8853000/site/newsweek/

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I have long suspected that there were more reasons than meet the eye for the seeming abandonment of the war against the Taliban and bin Laden in Afghanistan.

To maintain a constant state of war, one's enemy must remain alive and healthy.

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Expensive gasoline in Iraq?

One of the rationals for the Iraq invasion, was that the oil we gained would help cover the cost.

NO WAY!

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From World News Australia

"The tripling of Iraq's heavily subsidized gasoline price has sparked demonstrations in several Iraqi provinces. "

Check the link for more.

http://www9.sbs.com.au/theworldnews/region.php?id=126529&region=6

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All that oil under Iraq, and the price of gasoline is going up. How can this be? Maybe someone should ask Bush. He seems to have an answer for everything.

Monday, December 26, 2005

Bush and Iraq

Substitute "Dubya" for the title of the poem. Shelley was a prophet and a keen observer of human failure.

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                                                 Ozymandias

I met a traveler from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read,
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed,
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

-Percy Bysshe Shelley
1792-1822

Friday, December 23, 2005

Hurricane Katrina and systemic failure

I was just watching "Hardball" with Chris Matthews. Chris was recapping the tragedy of New Orleans and the failure of the Bush administration to adequately address the crisis.

A thought came to mind. During the "Cold War" any failure of the system in the Soviet Union was trumpeted by our side as a failure of communism, and the superiority of our capitalistic system.

What can we say now? The system failed New Orleans. Where is the fault? To whom or what do we attribute fault in this horrible situation?

I don't believe it's due to our system of government or our economic system. The failure is in the incompetence of people that the citizens have entrusted with responsibility for the welfare of the country and it's people.

The time for change has come.

 

Thursday, December 22, 2005

Which security agency does what?

There sure is  lots of controversy in the media concerning which security agency has authority in which area, and what and where their authority extends.

Maybe we have too many agencies. There's the NSA, the CIA, the FBI, and who knows what else. Maybe we need to combine them into one super agency. We could call it the KGB.

To satisfy the Bush-Cheney-Rice triumvirate, it would have virtually unlimited spying powers, and only one medium would be allowed to report any news about the KGB. That medium would be, of course, FOX News, the Republican Pravda.

 

 

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

The camel is sneaking into the tent

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Purely domestic calls were intercepted
Secret surveillance program apparently broke its own rules

James Risen, Eric Lichtblau, New York Times

Wednesday, December 21

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The link is to the full article. Beware the camel.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/12/21/MNGQ6GB5LM1.DTL&hw=Purely+domestic+calls&sn=001&sc=1000

Watch what you say. Big Brother may be listening.

Monday, December 19, 2005

Is Democracy in danger?

Bush seems to believe that since we're at war, he has the legal right to authorize wiretapping of American citizens. No need to get a court order as the law requires.

How many more laws can Bush ignore and circumvent while we're at war? I think that the citizens of this country should be concerned that if a "state of war" can be prolonged indefinitely, then the presidency may  become a dictatorship. There is an old story about the camel putting his nose in the tent because the night was cold. This wasn't stopped, so eventually the whole camel was in the tent.

Beware the camel, fellow citizens!

Saturday, December 17, 2005

U.S.Constitution on the Presidency

From the Constitution of the United States.

Article II, Section 1

Clause 8:

Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:--"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

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George W. Bush swore to uphold the Constitution. When he authorized illegal wiretapping of American citizens, he broke his oath and violated the Constitution. This is an impeachable offence.

Now it's time for our elected representatives to do their job.

Friday, December 16, 2005

Peace on Earth-----------

------------------------and Goodwill to all People

So-called "Patriot Act"

http://news.com.com/Senate+rebuffs+Bush+on+Patriot+Act/2100-1028_3-5998538.html

I glad that there are apparently enough members of the Senate that understand the words of wisdom by the great American patriot, Ben Franklin, and are putting the brakes on the denigration of liberty by some of the provisions of the "Patriot Act"

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"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

Thursday, December 15, 2005

Democracy in Iraq?

Bush thinks that there will be a viable democracy in Iraq, and when there is, and the Iraqi army can provide adequate security, we will be able to withdraw our troops.

In a word: HOGWASH!

If there is a democratic government in Iraq, it isn't likely to survive without our soldiers there to make sure it does. If our soldiers aren't there, a democracy created as a result of our invasion will be viewed by the surrounding Islamic states as a client government of the United States, and therefore a continual threat to the surrounding states, and one that must be eliminated. Do you remember when we invaded, how quickly the Iraqi army folded? Why would it be different the next time?

Are we facing perpetual war with Islam? Can we survive such a scenerio?

I believe with certainty that we invaded Iraq to gain control over a very large oil reserve, and divide Iran and Syria geographically with a military base, all the better to protect Israel, and enrich our oil companies.

Bush and the neo-cons have put us in a severe bind, and the end is not is sight.

In 17th century Europe, there was a 30 year war. Is that what we are facing in the Mid-east?

Citizens of the United States should think long and hard about what we may be facing and what may be the cost.

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Mr. Enron, Ken Lay, is innocent!

Read all about the poor persecuted fellow:

 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/12/13/financial/f143839S87.DTL&hw=Enron&sn=001&sc=1000

Poor Ken Lay, the founder of the late and unlamented Enron Corp. He is simply the innocent victim of scheming underlings who were committing evil acts that he was blissfully unaware of. Does the above remind anyone of another president who claims to be the victim of "faulty intelligence" that caused him to make decisions that have cost thousands of lives? These protestations of innocence should fall on deaf ears. The man at the top must always be held accountable for acts committed on his watch.

Sunday, December 11, 2005

"Oh what a tangled web we weave---------------

--------When first we practice to deceive".  Sir Walter Scott

 

December 11, 2005 latimes.com : National News   THE WORLD French Told CIA of Bogus Intelligence

  • The foreign spy service warned the U.S. various times before the war that there was no proof Iraq sought uranium from Niger, ex-officials say.
  • http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-niger11dec11,0,3678379.story?coll=la-home-headlines
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    Bush and the neo-cons were so anxious to invade Iraq, that they would seize on any untruth to stir public opinion to support the war. The link is to the Los Angeles Times article concerning the supposed uraniun from Niger.

    In light of all the proven lies, how can anyone in their right mind believe anything these scoundrels say?

    Thursday, December 8, 2005

    Democrat disarray

    I just heard a statement attributed to some Republican or other that went something like this: Bush's best friends concerning Iraq are Howard Dean and Nancy Pelosi.

    Reminded me of a famous quote:

    "I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat."
    Will Rogers

    A Wolfowitz in sheep's clothing

    Ex-neocon hawk Paul Wolfowitz now touts peace
    World Bank chief tries to distance himself from Bush

    Dana Milbank, Washington Post

    http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/12/08/MNG75G4IM51.DTL&hw=Wolfowitz&sn=001&sc=1000

    This is amazing. One of the main neo-cons and architect of the Iraq war, now wants to be "The Prince of Peace". Verily I say unto thee, it doth boggle the mind.

    Read and boggle!

     

    Monday, December 5, 2005

    Belay Tom Delay----------------

    ------------and send him away.

    Tom Delay is under indictment for a felony, and Dick Cheney is in Texas to make a fund raising speech for him. The chutzpah of these folks knows no bounds. I suppose that they think they can do almost anything they want, and get away with it. They surely do believe in the Barnum theory that there's a sucker born every minute.

    I can only hope that a saying, maybe mistakely ascribed to Abe Lincoln, will come to bear on these scoundrels.

    "You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time."

    President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned us about the "military-industrial complex" gaining too much power. He should have said. "the military-POLITICAL-industrial complex".

    The link is to an article in the San Diego Union-Tribune online version that outlines some of the rampant corruption involving Duke Cunningham and many others. It's a long read and a real eye opener.

    http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/cunningham/20051204-9999-1n4adcs.html

    Thursday, December 1, 2005

    "The evil that men do lives after them,-----------

    -------------the good is oft interred with their bones" Shakespeare.

    In Iraq, evil is being done, but the evil doers are far away and safely enconsed in cushy positions of great power and influence.

    It's the young, the good, and the brave whose bones are being interred as they die in a war, for which the reasons and logic are increasingly being called into question, and "stay the course" is the weak battle cry. Anytime now, I expect the Vietnam War "Light at the end of the tunnel" crap to surface.

    The latest fiasco to come to light is the story today about some shadowy propaganda outfit unfortunately named "Lincoln Group" that is paying Iraqi journalists to plant feelgood stories in local press.These stories are written by our people, translated into Arabic and printed as legitimate news. More of our tax money down the rathole.

    http://www.freemarketnews.com/WorldNews.asp?nid=2836